Arkansas panel considers making gun list secret

Republican Sen. Bruce Holland of Greenwood planned Tuesday to present to the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee his legislation exempting the concealed carry information from the state's Freedom of Information Act. Current law only allows the names and ZIP codes of permit holders to be released.

A Senate committee is considering whether to make secret the list of Arkansans permitted to carry concealed handguns.

Republican Sen. Bruce Holland of Greenwood planned Tuesday to present to the Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee his legislation exempting the concealed carry information from the state's Freedom of Information Act. Current law only allows the names and ZIP codes of permit holders to be released.

The current law is the result of a compromise struck in 2009 after legislators originally backed making the entire list secret.

Holland says he filed his proposal in response to a New York newspaper that published the names and addresses of permit holders last year after the Connecticut school massacre.